Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Gro Something Greater - We Gro Understanding

We are a work from home family with an energetic 4 year old. We are constantly looking for family activities that can be used as a teaching tool. Needless to say we were so excited when we received our Miracle Gro AeroGarden. I knew that not only would it be an exciting learning experience but something that my daughter and I can do together. She is my “mini me”.

From the moment the AeroGarden was unpacked I had her full attention. I explained how the garden worked and we laid out our Italian Herb assortment in the garden, filled it with water and placed the caps on the plants.

Within 5 minutes she was standing in front of the garden asking “why aren’t they growing mommy”? I had to laugh,apparently she gets her patience (or lack thereof) from me. I told her it would be 7 days before the plants started to sprout.

So, I turned her attention to learning and the first day we talked about the plants, about eating healthy and growing your own food. She is a sponge for information so I tell her as much as I can. Imagine our surprise on day 2 when we saw baby sprouts in our garden! This was extraordinary and on that day my picky 4 year old daughter told me all about growing your own food and eating healthy.

The conversation that this experience has opened up has been amazing, but the bond we are building as we grow our herb garden is immeasurable. Everyday we talk about the garden, about the plants and about eating healthy food. She even suggested that we grow more food so we can stop eating unhealthy food; which opened the door to discuss balance and indulging occasionally.

I don’t know who is more excited about the prospect of having the garden right in the kitchen; her or me. I do know that day after day it opens up more dialogue, more understanding and strengthens our mother-daughter relationship. That is so much more than I ever dreamed of!

I can’t wait to share all of our herb recipes from our kitchen in the near future. With love from our kitchen to yours!